10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
41,433 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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problem #21

Jul 112022

C250

  • miles
The components of the engine being the camshaft adjusters, timing guide, timing chain, valves and pistons that all work to deliver power are faulty and have failed literally mid-drive. I was on a busy interstate during rush hour and nearly lost control of the vehicle as it just powered out while driving at 70 mph then forcing a semi to nearly terminate myself and family. The dependability and safety is abruptly ripped out from underneath you. Without even being able to control the vehicle and it coming to an abrupt, unsafe hault. There were no warning signs. The vehicle has since been looked at and informed me that an extended warranty is in place for half of all the parts and labor above.all should be covered and for safety.my nerves are a wreck and without a way to afford an entirely new engine I am left to contend with car payments for an unsafe undrivable vehicle. Since then the dealership recognized my concerns but has since stated that without a modification to the extended warranty or it being made a recall that there is nothing that can be done.

- Celebration, FL, USA

problem #20

Aug 022022

C250

  • miles
intermittently the idle will vibrate the car and acceleration will quit and sputter. Very dangerous in many conditions. cannot drive car safely.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #19

Nov 032021

C250

  • miles
over the last week I noticed a strong gas smell outside the car as I walk around in the back I check the gas cap and it seals normally and stronger than the smell that comes out of the gas cap

- Scottsdale , AZ, USA

problem #18

Aug 202021

C250

  • miles
High pressure fuel pump failure causes unsafe driving conditions

- Napa, CA, USA

problem #17

Jan 152021

C250

  • miles
I have several saftey recalls and performance recalls. Right now my car is not operable due to these recalls. There is no dealer on my island. This vehicle was purchased brand new from Hawaii and shipped to guam. The dealer is requesting us to ship back the vehicle to fix these recalls. Which will cost me about $10,000 for shipping. How do I go about this.

- Hagatna, GU, USA

problem #16

Dec 282020

C250

  • 90,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway I10 I was doing 65 mph I try to pass a car so I accelerated the car but the car was not getting the power and my check engine light came on so I safely pull out of the freeway and inspected the car with a scanner and it showed a code so I search in google and it appears a failure of the high pressure fuel pump, I managed to take the car to my house disconnected the battery and the check engine light disappeared but the RPM's where irregular and the acceleration was failing more often. It appears that I'm not the only one that have had this problem while I was looking in google and youtube many people had the same problem while trying to accelerate.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #15

Oct 162020

C250

  • 114,000 miles
I was on the 99 freeway driving normal speed and hit brakes to take the denair exit. The car sped up! like turbo power! the speedometer was at 90 mph as I flew through a red light at top of the ramp! I had to continue down ramp back on freeway. Pushing and pushing on brakes but nothing happened! next ramp was a bit steeper, so tried again to slow car down! it started to slow and I was able to put car in neutral as it came to stop and I powered the car off. I was approximately 50 miles from home and had to be towed to Mercedes of stockton. After their repair department checked my car, they found the brake booster was bad and the turbo pipe hose was torn( due to wear and tear). I had previously (2 months earlier)had my car in for complete check up by the stockton, California dealership and nothing was detected. I feel this a safety issue! I could have been killed! also I believe this to be manufacture default, the cost to fix is $2,400, and I always bring my car in for regular serving. Thank you

- Stockton, CA, USA

problem #14

May 012016

C250 4-cyl

  • 65,000 miles
When driving uphill at 30mph the car slows down and takes a second to accelerate. When I press on the gas I have to floor it to get the car going faster.

- Santa Clarita, CA, USA

problem #13

Nov 262019

C250

  • 92,300 miles
Whenever I want to speed up to pass a vehicle or/and to enjoy a rapid accelarating engine light comes up and it turns into limp mode.this is a serious safety issue

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #12

Jun 032019

C250

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250. While driving approximately 55 mph and up, the vehicle failed to shift gears automatically in order to accelerate correctly. The contact took the vehicle to Mercedes-Benz of arrowhead (located at 9260 w bell rd, peoria, AZ 85382, 623-806-8764) where it was diagnosed that the high-pressure fuel pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #11

Sep 012019

C250 4-cyl

  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Mercedes-Benz C250. While driving various speeds, the vehicle would not immediately accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed. After turning the engine off and back on multiple times, the vehicle would operate normally. Also, the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the high pressure fuel pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The local dealer (crown euro cars, 8302 us highway 19 N., pinellas park, fl) and the manufacturer were notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.

- Clearwater, FL, USA

problem #10

Mar 012019

C250

  • 45,000 miles
When accelerating, the car will just lose all power and stop accelerating. This throws you forward and kills power to the engine preventing you from speeding up. It then goes into limp mode and have to restart the car several times before exiting limp mode. When taking the car to the dealer they say it just detects a fuel error and stops the engine to prevent damage. This happened once on a highway and once on a city street as I was turning.

- Loveland, CO, USA

problem #9

Aug 152015

C250

  • 75,000 miles
Check engine light code, P0340, camshaft position sensor. Problem includes difficulty starting car, engine knock upon start, and misfires accelerating to pass at highway speeds.

- Salinas, CA, USA

problem #8

Jun 142018

C250

  • 60,000 miles
Gas station nozzles repeatedly get stuck in car gas tank when refueling. The gas station nozzle do not contain the spring around the nozzle, they are smooth with nothing on the nozzle that could catch on the car. It happens at all gas stations from 76 to costco gas. It takes 5-10 minutes to remove it with varying force and varying angles. Nozzle will spin around freely but will not release. Latest incident required extreme force 200lb man pulling with all body weight. This action caused the internal rolled metal that holds gas cab in to bend up and out which then prevented the gas cap from being screwed back on. It is unexplained how the rolled metal was able to latch to the gas station nozzle and then bend up and out (see picture) when again the gas station nozzle is smooth. When placing gas station nozzle into the car it slides in very smoothly with no hint it will not come out. There is a plastic piece in the car where the nozzle slips in between (see picture). This appears to be preventing the gas station nozzle from being removed but it does not explain the damage caused when removing gas station nozzle. A hammer was used (not safe with chance of spark but only way to bend it, pliers will not work) to bend back the metal (see picture) so that gas cap would seat properly. It is unclear at this moment if the car can be refueled or if damage needs to be repaired. Gas station attendant said "I see many Mercedes have this problem". the problem appears to only happen in California. Traveling across country from Washington DC to California, not one time did the nozzle get stuck in the car. It has been something I have previously just dealt with knowing each time I can get it out but takes 2-3 minutes. Note, I drive 3-5K miles a year.

- San Rafael, CA, USA

problem #7

Apr 032018

C250

  • 40,000 miles
40,000 mile vehicle. Prolonged to start with grinding noise from valve cover. Check engine light illuminated. Car was taken to Mercedes Benz of birmingham where it was diagnosed with faulty cam adjusters, timing chain, and timing chain tensioner $4,200 repair estimate. Common problem with Mercedes M271 engine. Customer refused repair. Problem occurred while at a stop and in motion.

- Dora, AL, USA

problem #6

Nov 272017

C250

  • 79,000 miles
I was on I-95 and the car just started shaking and would not accelerate, very dangerous. The car also has a dangerous lag when trying to accelerate. I was trying to accelerate making a U turn to on coming traffic and the car wouldn't accelerate nearly causing a catastrophic life threatening accident. I have had my car at the dealership for 3 months trying to fix the problem and to date every time I get it back the same thing happens. My paperwork is with my car that has been at the dealership since for 3 months.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

problem #5

Oct 102017

C250

  • 60,000 miles
My fuel pump originally was diagnosed as faulty in October 2017 ordered from Mercedes Benz of sa which was stated by the eta provided. Upon calling back they were unable to get a eta on my fuel pump which has my car running horrible and smelling like gas but is my only car. It has been over 4 months since situation upon calling today no eta has been given or updated they voiced its on international back-order everywhere you call if an item like this isn't available there is a serious safety issues and recall needed immediately to hold Mercedes responsible. This is an unfortunate event that needs to be fixed.

- Uvalde, TX, USA

problem #4

May 012014

C250

  • 6,000 miles
Long pause when trying to accelerate from a stop. Not normal turbo lag, it's too long.

- Tacoma, WA, USA

problem #3

Jun 182014

C250 4-cyl

  • 9,675 miles
Constant issues with vehicle acceleration. For example when try to accelerate from a stop the car hesitates for several seconds even with significant pressure on gas pedal then suddenly accelerates in a very jerky fashion. This is very dangerous when trying to pull out into traffic or make a left hand turn crossing multiple traffic lanes. Have also had similar problems when car is traveling on highway and need to accelerate quickly, the car hesitates for several seconds and then jerks into gear and speeds up. I don't drive my car that much because I work from home and take cabs on weekends when going out but had a friend drive the car with me to see what they thought and they said they definitely noticed the issue. I am taking my car to the dealership to see if they will make repairs but I have a feeling like others who have submitted a complaint I will be told nothing is wrong. I just happened across this website and thought I would see if the problem was just my car but 11 of 13 complaints are the exact same issue as mine. Why hasn't the ntsb issued a recall" does someone or a bunch or people have to die first?"

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #2

Aug 262014

C250

  • 10,119 miles
On 8/26/14 I was stopped at a light. When I went to take-off, the car would not accelerate. It finally did but very slowly. This occurred two more time at the next two stop lights. I was then in a center turn lane to turn across three lanes of traffic & when I tried to accelerate, the car died and the electronic display gave a yellow error message that the car was inoperable due to an issue with the braking system. I immediately put the car in park, turned it off & then started it back up. Fortunately it re-started, the error message was gone & I was able to drive into my office parking lot. My Mercedes service dept. Said no codes registered on the computer, probably because I turned the car off so quickly it didn't have time to. Today, 8/17/14, I am having the same issue. My car is back at the Mercedes service department. This is, in my opinion, a dangerous & life threatening problem.

- Altamonte Springs, FL, USA

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